The present invention relates to an improved method for processing salmon roe products.
A sharp increase in the volume of salmon roe products delivered from North America, such as from U.S.A. and Canada, now contributes to a stable supply of processed salmon roe products in Japan. Although the situation is like this, a major problem with the processing of salmon roe products is how less fresh materials can satisfy two basic but contradictory requirements of the finished products, namely, the less salty taste and hardness, which are usually obtainable with fresh materials.
The material egg for salmon roe products (hereafter called "green egg" which specifically indicates the untreated material roe for further processing), which has lost some of its freshness may not be processed in a conventional manner applicable to very fresh green egg, since it provides a sweet but soft product. To harden such a product, it had to be stirred in a saturated aqueous solution of salt containing nitrite(s) for a longer period that the period required for very fresh green egg, and to be sprinkled with a larger amount of salt when packed in a case.
However, the products thus finished are avoided by consumers due to their higher salt content and their stickiness to teeth. A recent low-salt food campaign also contributes to the aversion for such high-salt food.